fashion brands support a fur-free Europe – POLITICO

Dear Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety,

As fashion continues to evolve towards ever more sustainable designs, animal welfare concerns have become more prominent in the industry. To this end, the animal welfare shortcomings inherent in the production of fur for fashion deserve particular attention.

The main species raised for fur are essentially wild animals. Millions of mink, foxes and raccoon dogs are kept in wire-mesh battery cages and killed solely or mainly for their fur every year in the EU. In recent decades, this practice has been condemned by scientists, animal welfare organizations and European citizens. Likewise, it’s no different for the fashion industry, which pursues ever-greater sustainability goals and, no less important, animal-friendly alternatives. This clearly reflects the fact that our customers, European citizens, increasingly demand fashion products without the use of animal fur.

Through engaged dialogue with relevant stakeholders and based on the latest scientific evidence, we have realized how unsustainable and unethical the sourcing of fur from special farmed animals is. With a better knowledge of the practice of fur farming, we also understand that the certification programs provided by the fur industry do not address the main welfare issues of fur farmed animals, as the specific needs of fur animals cannot be met on fur farms.

As fashion companies, we are strongly committed to ensuring that our business model adheres to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in relation to animal-derived materials, Goals 12, 13, 14 and 15. consulting our sustainability reports, it is possible to see how, in their “materiality analysis”, the topic of “treatment of animals” is increasingly becoming a “material” topic. In other words, animal welfare is a priority both for consumers (and other external stakeholders) and for companies themselves. This approach leads the clothing industry to explore the development of alternative materials to animal fur. Indeed, we see that the entire production chain is now oriented towards the definitive disappearance of fur in fashion. Thanks to technological innovations in textile materials, we can satisfy a market demand for fur-free products that results from a respect for animals and the environment that is increasingly rooted in European social values.

To date, it is estimated that 69% some of the most renowned luxury brands have already gone beyond fur by adopting fur-free policies. Recently, during the fashion weeks in Milan and Paris, we once again demonstrated how it is possible to produce fashion collections even for high-end markets without resorting to the use of animal fur. Beyond excluding animal fur from our collections and stores, fashion magazines are increasingly adopting fur-free editorial standards for content and advertisements. With this fashion-forward approach, we hope fur will soon be something completely unacceptable in the fashion industry.

Despite the enormous impact of fur-free policies, we believe that implementing regulatory measures would add immense value to achieving the ethical and sustainability goals sought by ourselves and intergovernmental organizations. To date, 19 member countries have implemented legislation restricting or prohibiting the farming of fur animals, while other countries (such as Israel, the State of California and many cities in the United States) have introduced bans on the trade in animal fur. Additionally, 1,701,892 million European citizens have signed the European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe, showing extraordinary support for a future Europe where fur has no place.

For these reasons, we, the undersigned fashion brands, consider appropriate an intervention by the European Commission aimed at rebalancing the internal market through an EU-wide ban on the farming of fur animals and the introduction of an EU-wide ban on trade in all types of products. from fur farming around the world.

In addition to the signatory companies, it should be remembered that worldwide more than 1,500 other companies have joined the Fur Free Retailer Program which recognizes and supports retailers who have committed to a fur free policy. The Fur Free Retailer Program is the world’s leading program to connect fur-free businesses with consumers looking for ethical products and recognizes ISO 26000 guidelines on corporate social responsibility.